The Giraffes
Announce New Album, "Prime Motivator," out November 11th on Crustacean Records!
Metallica and Black Sabbath are the obvious touchstones, but the rhythm section clearly owns a copy of The Who's Greatest Hits as well. Drug addiction and soccer riots provide fodder for the lyrics, while the flammable guitar work could have only come from someone that's walked some of life's hard roads. - Spin.com
They combine the raw weight of Black Sabbath's riffs with the cocksure swagger of Robert Plant, but seem to take themselves about as seriously as The Butthole Surfers... like Soundgarden might've sounded if all their songs were about wanting to f*ck you. - Stereogum
The group's much-anticipated new album, out next month, boasts the kind of yowling vocals, screaming guitars and barreling drum volleys that inspired many a bong hit and fist-pump. - The NY Daily News
Prime Motivator, the fourth full-length from Brooklyn, NY punk-metal masters The Giraffes, is hands down the band's crowning achievement to date. Having made their name with the twisted riff rock of both Helping You Help Yourself (2002) and The Giraffes (2005), alongside the more theatrical and evocative strains of A Gentleman Never Tells (2003), the band unflinchingly unites the two styles on Prime Motivator.
Prime Motivator finds The Giraffes at the peak of their powers, as the quartet performs at new levels of precision, aggression, abandon and exuberance. Lyrically, Prime Motivator - particularly the title track - was inspired by lead singer Aaron Lazar's multiple brushes with death in 2005 and 2008 (Lazar has a mysterious heart condition that causes him to literally drop dead without warning and has been outfitted with an implanted defibrillator as a precaution). The resulting record is an epic one; at turns urgent, belligerent, harrowing, oversexed, sardonic and sly, with the band's characteristic swagger - and arsenal of memorable riffs - always in full effect.
About The Giraffes:
The Giraffes were formed in 1998 in Brooklyn, New York by founding and present band members Damien Paris (guitar) and Andrew Totolos (drums). The current line-up was completed by vocalist and ringmaster Aaron Lazar who joined the band in 2000 and bassist Jens Carstensen who was conscripted in 2007. Throughout the ten year history of The Giraffes, they have remained a genre defying mix of punk, heavy metal, classic rock and roll, surf guitar rock with echoes of Eastern European and Middle Eastern traditional music surfacing in their riffs. Prolific as they are destructive, these boys from Brooklyn have already released three full-length albums and two EPs as well as having toured with the likes of Eagles of Death Metal, Local H, The Means, The Vacation, Skeleton Key and others.
* Prime Motivator was recorded at the legendary Rancho De La Luna studios in Joshua Tree, CA (Desert Sessions) by Dave Catching; engineered by Ed Monsef; and features guest vocals from Jessie "The Devil" Hughes and Melissa Auf Der Mar (Hole / Smashing Pumpkins). Prime Motivator was mixed by Joel Hamilton at Studio G in Brooklyn (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) and mastered by Enoch Jensen at Eastlake Recording in Boston MA.
Prime Motivator tracklist
1. Prime Motivator
2. Done
3. The Power of Fatherhood
4. Diskowarts
5. Allergic to Magnets
6. Medicaid Benefit Applique
7. Honest Men
8. Smoke Machine
9. Clever Girls
10. Sickness (this is)
11. Clever Boy
12. Louis Guthrie Wants to Kill Me
13. E.S.F.
The Giraffes Live!
Oct 24 2008 CMJ Show @ Le Poisson Rouge New York, New York
Oct 25 2008 CMJ EARLY Show @ Club Europa Brooklyn NY w/ US Christmas and Akimbo
Nov 5 2008 Now That’s Class Cleveland, Ohio
Nov 6 2008 Liar’s Club Chicago, Illinois
Nov 7 2008 Vaudeville Mews Des Moines, Iowa
Nov 8 2008 Larimer Lounge Denver, Colorado
Nov 9 2008 The Parlor Bar Laramie, Wyoming
Nov 10 2008 Czar Bar Kansas City, Missouri
Nov 11 2008 Big V’s St. Paul, Minnesota
Nov 12 2008 The Frequency Madison, Wisconsin
Nov 13 2008 The Summit Columbus, Ohio
For more information, visit:
www.myspace.com/thegiraffes
www.crustaceanrecords.com
